It's Only A Paper Moon
by becauseihaveyourback
Summary: 1930s AU. When Jane Rizzoli suddenly finds herself widowed and broke in the midst of the Great Depression, hitching a ride with a beautiful stranger seems like her only option for returning home to her family. But traveling with a brilliant con artist like Maura Isles is bound to be an adventure she never counted on.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm super excited to write this story, and I really hope you're all excited to come along for the ride! This fic is going to be based (somewhat loosely) on the movie Paper Moon, and the novel (originally titled Addie Pray, then republished years later as Paper Moon) that the movie itself was based on. You won't need to have read or watched either in order to enjoy this fic- although I do highly recommend them both! If you have seen the movie or read the book, you'll notice the main characters are a man and a young girl who is potentially his daughter- obviously I'm not quite going that route here, and I'm changing the relationship of the main characters a bit in order to be more conducive to a non-creepy eventual Rizzles (aka they're both adults, and they're not related). This is definitely something new that I'm trying out, as far as the storytelling mode for this fic, and the characterization that's taking place, so I would certainly appreciate any feedback that you have as we move along. As I said, I'm incredibly excited to get into this one, and I hope you enjoy the ride!**

* * *

The Great Depression hit this country hard, and that's a fact.

The poor became the broke, and the rich, well… they either became meaner, or they became the poor. A lot of those folks, those ones that got mean, they ended up making life hell for anyone they could squeeze a penny out of. Just to get another coin in their pocket, they'd swipe it right off someone else's table. It was downright cruel sometimes, the things they did, and you can't forget that, of course. But when your stomach's so empty it's growling like a rabid hound, sometimes your conscience just isn't loud enough to be heard. And you can't forget that, either.

There are some folks who might even say the Depression packed a bigger wallop than the War itself, and for those folks, maybe that's true. Times were hard, and people suffered. But it really just depends on who you're asking. 'Cause for all those families who watched their love ones come home in a box, or never got to see them come home at all… that hits pretty hard, too. And the money can come back. But life? Life just don't work that way.

Of course, it wasn't the War that took away Jane's husband. He was just a kid when the world first started fighting itself, and he never lived to see it happen the second time. He'd always told Jane that he'd be out there someday, with a gun in his hand and a medal on his chest. But in the end, he didn't have to fight a war to get taken out by a stray bullet. Happened right here at home, in a hunting accident.

Or at least that's what the sheriff called it.

The funeral took place on a Tuesday, and Jane, of course, showed up dressed all in black. It was only appropriate for a woman in mourning, and she certainly did mourn the loss of her husband. But anybody who showed up to see Jane Rizzoli cry would leave that cemetery mighty disappointed. She shed her tears alone, and she'd deny it if you asked her.

So she stood there, silent and still as if she were chiseled into the same stone they placed in the ground, and she didn't move or say a word until the preacher closed his Bible and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. And even then she probably wouldn't have spoken, except for the plain fact that he asked her a direct question.

"Will you be going to stay with your parents?"

"Well, I ain't hardly got a car to get there. So I guess not."

"There's always the rail."

"And who's gonna drive me to the station. You?"

He dropped his hand off her shoulder at that, and they both knew the answer to her question. He might have been a man of the Lord, but even a man of the Lord wasn't willing to drive clear across Marengo County just to put Jane Rizzoli on a train to Missouri. Neither were the few neighbors who'd shown up to pay their respects to the dearly departed. Hell, most of them didn't have a car that would even make it to the next town over, let alone all the way to the county line, and if they did, they sure didn't want to make the trip with a sharp-tongued twenty-something whose husband had passed without leaving her a single penny to live on.

Can't get something for nothing, they figured. And at that point, nothing was exactly what Jane had.

"Well, what do you think you'll do?" one of her neighbors asked, clinging a bit tighter to her own husband's arm as if just the sight of a widow could send death calling for the man at her side.

"Guess I'll find myself a job," Jane said with a shrug. "Not sure I have much choice in it, really."

She looked down at the ground and pushed around a few pebbles with her boots, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her trousers as her eyes skated across the stone that marked the site of her husband's burial.

_Didn't even wear a dress to your funeral, _she thought with a forlorn smile. _But hell, you probably wouldn't have recognized me if I had._

Another of her neighbors opened their mouth to speak, but the sound was drowned out by a clap of thunder so loud it shook the ground under their feet. The sky was dark, and the wind had started whipping Jane's dark curls right up and into her face, but the raindrops hadn't started falling yet. She didn't really care about getting caught in the storm. It wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But her neighbors weren't willing to get rained on for her sake, and she couldn't honestly say she expected them to.

They'd all turned to head back across the street when the car pulled up. A little loud in the engine, and clearly a little bumpy on the ride, but a working automobile nonetheless. And when they spotted the opportunity to foist responsibility for Jane Rizzoli onto an unsuspecting stranger, well… they must've figured that would be worth getting a little damp for.

"Evening, ma'am," one of the men called out with a tip of his hat.

His wife would probably deny it, but she pulled him a little closer when she laid eyes on the beautiful blonde woman who stepped out of that car. Not that the stranger was particularly flashy or anything, 'cause she wasn't. But she sure was nice to look at, and there's no use lying about that.

"Good evening," the woman responded with a voice like the sweetest, smoothest caramel.

She held something in her hand that Jane couldn't quite make out at first. A box, maybe. Or a book. It didn't really matter, because she took one look at Jane and placed it carefully back into her vehicle.

"Can we help you find someplace?" the neighbor asked her after taking a few steps closer. "Rain's almost here, I'd say. If you're goin' somewheres, best get there soon."

"Well, if you're offering…" She flashed him a smile so bright it could have charmed the pants off a preacher. Just one look from behind those long lashes of hers, and that man would be cleaning up his drool for days. "I could actually use some directions to Demopolis, if you don't mind."

"'Course, 'course! Be happy to help, Mrs.…?"

"It's _Miss_, I'm sorry to say," she corrected with another flash of those pearly whites. "Maura Isles."

He reached for her hand so fast you'd think she was offering it up in marriage, and it's lucky for his wife that she wasn't, because that poor fool probably would've left her penniless in the dust without a second thought. Jane found the whole thing so ludicrous that she could practically feel her eyes rolling in her skull, even when that stranger locked a set of earth-toned irises right on her.

"And you're Mrs. Jones?" Maura asked Jane.

"Never went by Jones when my husband was alive, so I sure ain't gonna start now. It's Rizzoli. Jane."

She, unlike the newcomer, did not offer her hand in greeting. She offered a nod, and that was all. And if Maura was in any way offended by this gesture, she didn't let on. At least not yet.

"In any case, Mrs. Rizzoli-"

"Might as well start callin' me Miss again, too."

A patient smile and a calming breath was Maura's immediate response, and Jane could tell this stranger wasn't used to being interrupted. She had to fight back a smile of her own when she figured out how strangely gratifying it felt to see the woman get so flustered.

"_Miss _Rizzoli," Maura corrected, "I'm terribly sorry to hear about your husband."

"And that's actually somethin' you can maybe help us out with," that neighbor piped up again, probably as thrilled with the idea of getting rid of Jane as he was with temporarily getting Maura's attention focused back on him.

"Oh?" Maura inquired, sincerely curious. "How so?"

"Well, see, with Mrs.… _Miss_ Rizzoli's husband passin' so suddenly, there hasn't been time to make arrangements for her to return home to her family. And most of us ain't got a car to take her in, ourselves. Otherwise, we'd be happy to."

Jane had to physically restrain herself from letting out a derisive snort.

_Yeah, sure you would, buddy. 'Cause you're such a saint._

"I see. And may I ask where your family lives, Miss Rizzoli?"

Maura's attention turned quickly back toward the widow standing in front of her, much to the dismay of the man who wanted it the most. The look of longing on his face certainly wasn't lost on his wife, whose scowl could probably be seen from halfway across the county. At the very least, Jane could certainly see it from halfway across the graveyard.

"That would be St. Joseph, Missouri."

Maura's eyes widened instantly in response to the new bit of information.

"Well, I wasn't planning on leaving the state-"

"Oh, no, no! 'Course not, ma'am!" Again, Maura was interrupted. And again, she appeared to be struggling to remain unfazed by the clear impropriety of these small town locals. Jane, on the other hand, was still amused. "I was just thinkin' you might take her along with you to Demopolis. Maybe help her find a train to St. Joe? If it's not too much trouble, that is."

Jane felt those eyes back on her once again, scrutinizing every inch of her like she was a heifer on auction at the county fair. She crossed her arms and met the stranger's gaze with an icy stare of her own.

_Nothin' to look at here, lady._

Maura's lips turned up at the corners and she quirked an eyebrow in Jane's direction before turning her attention back to the neighbor with a decisive shake of her head.

"I really don't think I'm able to take her. I'm terribly sorry, it's just that I'll be making a few stops on my way north, and I-"

"She can wait, ma'am! She can wait." The neighbor's pleading had become almost desperate now, and even the forced smile on his face couldn't hide it anymore. "If you've got the room, ma'am, she's got the patience."

Maura turned her attention back toward Jane with an amused sparkle behind her eyes. It would seem even a stranger could tell that patience didn't sit real well with Jane Rizzoli, and as for Jane, well… this time she wasn't able to hold back a quiet, derisive chuckle.

"Well, then… I suppose the question should be posed to Miss Rizzoli, should it not?"

She raised her brows and waited for the brunette woman to answer her question, which she eventually did with a half-hearted shrug.

"I guess if you're offerin' me a ride, I'd be mighty foolish to turn you down."

"You don't strike me as someone who's particularly foolish."

Jane laughed again and took a few steps toward the car.

"You don't know me yet."

* * *

By the time Jane packed her suitcase and got it loaded into the back of Maura's car, the rain had started falling pretty steadily. Not so much that they couldn't see the road, of course, but enough that a nice little trickle of water had found its way in through a hole in the roof of the car and started dripping down onto Jane's arm.

"The roof's supposed to keep water _out_, you know," she huffed, giving her arm a shake and then hugging it against herself to keep it out of the way of the rain.

"Had I known I'd be picking up a passenger, I may have had that patched. As it stands, your company was rather unexpected, and I can't say I have the money to waste on frivolous car repairs."

"Could've fooled me."

Maura's gaze landed on her for so long that Jane almost wanted to tell her to get her eyes back to the road, but the ice in that stare was enough to chill even Jane's hot temper.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" the blonde finally asked, after returning her attention back out the windshield.

"I just mean the way you look, and the way you talk… you carry yourself like a person with full pockets. And that's not somethin' we got around here."

"Well," Maura sighed, "I may have had money in the past, but I certainly don't have it now."

Now it was Jane's turn to stare, and there was something in the other woman's tone of voice that hit right at home in the heart of a poor country girl. She was feeling especially guilty now that she'd managed to offend the one person who'd actually been willing to help her out, but rather than face it head on, she turned her eyes out the window and muttered a quiet apology.

"I'm sorry, too," she heard in response. "About your husband. I've heard he was a good man."

Jane was quiet for so long that Maura just about figured she wasn't going to say anything at all, but she finally looked over and gave her a nod.

"He was." She smiled, just a little, and added, "Just about the only man in the state who'd let me get away with wearin' pants all the time, I think."

Maura returned the smile with a gentle one of her own, and if only eyes had their own set of lips, Jane would've been sure those beautiful hazel ones were flashing a smile at her, too.

"You don't like to wear dresses?" she asked.

Jane shook her head so forcefully that Maura just had to let out a quiet chuckle.

"No, ma'am. No, I do not."

"Oh, please don't call me ma'am, Miss Rizzoli. You can't possibly be that much younger than I."

At this request, the brunette's brow came down in a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Well… just how old _are _ya?"

"I've just recently celebrated my twenty-seventh birthday, as a matter of fact. And by the looks of you, I don't imagine you're any younger than… twenty-five?"

She shook her head.

"Twenty-two. Be twenty-three in a month."

She wasn't sure whether to be offended or just amused at the surprise that passed over Maura's face when she heard the news, but the blonde seemed to get so flustered that amusement soon became inevitable.

"Oh. Well… I didn't realize… I suppose you _are _a bit younger than I initially believed."

"Does that mean you're gonna make me start callin' you ma'am again?"

It almost appeared for a moment that Maura was going to start very seriously answering the question, and had she done so, she certainly would have told Jane that calling her 'ma'am' was still wholly unnecessary, given the relative proximity of their respective ages. But once she turned her head to look over, she saw a playful grin on the face of that formerly grumpy young widow. And it was enough to draw a smile out of her, too.

"I suppose I'd much rather have you call me Maura."

"Then you can cut out the 'Miss Rizzoli' crap, too," Jane responded with a raise of her eyebrows. "Either start callin' me Jane, or start callin' me ma'am."

Maura's eyes sparkled with amusement as she replied,

"Yes, ma'am."

It was just about then that they made it to the edge of town, and just up the road, Jane could see the faint outline of the grain mill where her husband had once held down a steady job. Hadn't been great, but it had put food on the table, and he'd made a few friends there, to be sure. As a matter of fact, one of those friends had been out hunting with Casey on the day he lost his life, and some people say Leroy was hitting the bottle so hard that day that there's no way he should have been allowed with a gun in his hands. Some people even say that you'd be hard pressed to find a day when Leroy _wasn't _toting a gun around with a bottle in his hand.

But again, that would just depend on who you ask.

Jane would have been more than happy just to pass right on by that building, and really she had no reason to suspect that they wouldn't end up doing just that. So she was certainly surprised when Maura suddenly turned the wheel and pulled up just outside the front door of the mill, and she was even more surprised when that blonde woman opened up the door and started to climb down out of the car.

"What are you doin' at the mill?" Jane asked her, confusion written clear across her face.

"I have a bit of business I'd like to attend to before we leave town. It will only take a minute, so please just wait here."

On any other day, Jane probably would've hopped right on out and followed her inside, mainly 'cause she just doesn't like to sit still for too long, which shouldn't come as a surprise. But in the rain it just wasn't worth it, so she slunk down into her seat and watched through the windshield as her new companion headed into the building.

She tried to be patient, but as the minutes ticked on by, she started to get bored. Bored, and also a little curious. So when the rain started to slow up a little, she decided she'd head on inside and find out what the hell kind of business this well-dressed woman supposedly had at a rundown grain mill in the middle of Alabama.

Jane only made it over to the door before she stopped, once she heard the raised voices of Maura and a man she couldn't identify by sound alone.

"… If you think for one _second _that the best lawyers in this state would let you off the hook for taking that man's life, then you just go right ahead, sir. But I can assure you that if Mr. J. T. Faraday gets his hands on the evidence the sheriff has, he'll take you to court for more than just a small settlement."

"Now… now, just hold on, ma'am. The sheriff done told me it was an _accident, _and I don't rightly think-"

"You 'don't rightly think' that a widowed woman is owed anything for your _deplorable _behavior? Not only manufacturing illegal liquor, but drinking it with _a loaded firearm_ in your hands? Sir, the sheriff may be on your side, for some godforsaken reason, but I can most certainly assure you that the law itself is _not_."

For a brief moment, Jane considered stepping in. After all, it had become relatively apparent that they were talking about her, and talking about her husband, may he rest in peace. But it also seemed relatively apparent that this woman, whoever she was, knew exactly what she was doing. And if she was about to get Jane a hefty sum of money out of Leroy, why, she couldn't hardly see any reason to stop her doing so.

She heard a deep sigh from the man who she now knew was, in fact, Leroy, and then he seemed to finally give in to Maura's argument.

"Well… maybe we can work something out, then."

"I think a thousand dollars seems more than reasonable, considering the damage you've caused."

"A thous-?" Leroy probably would have laughed, if it hadn't been for the downright terrifying look on Maura's face. Jane couldn't see it, of course, but _he_ certainly could, and it was clear that this woman was serious as a sinner on Sunday. "Ma'am, I ain't got more than two hundred dollars-"

"Well, then, we'll just take your two hundred and be done with it."

This time when Jane heard Leroy sigh, she chanced a peek through the window and saw him reaching into his back pocket.

_Well, I'll be damned. She's actually gettin' me two hundred bucks outta this guy._

Before taking the risk of getting seen snooping, she decided to head on back to the car, and it was only another minute or two before Maura made her way back out, too. She climbed up into the driver's seat and started the car, and she didn't even notice the smile Jane was shooting her way until they were back on the road.

"How'd your business go back there?" Jane finally asked, when it started to become clear that the other woman wasn't going to bring it up on her own.

"I'd say it went quite well, considering. Not as well as I'd hoped, but certainly better than coming up empty."

Jane waited patiently for Maura to further explain, or to hand over the money, or really just to in any way acknowledge the exchange that had taken place at the mill. But without further prompting, the blonde was clearly not intending to speak further about the matter.

"So… what was that all about, anyway?"

"It was business, like I told you."

Her cold response might not have meant a thing, if Jane hadn't already known exactly what kind of business Maura had been attending to back at that mill. And it might not have made Jane upset, if it wasn't for the fact that this woman had two hundred dollars in her pocket that rightfully belonged to Jane.

She crossed her legs and looked out the window as aggravation slipped down over her, and you can bet she was just trying to figure how to get Maura to bring it up. But when she set her foot back down on the ground, she heard a crunching noise, and she looked down to find that she'd stepped right on top of a newspaper that had been slipped under the passenger seat. Must have slid forward a little during the drive, and found its way right under Jane's shoe. She grabbed for it immediately, and if she hadn't been so intently looking at it, she might have noticed the paled and panicked expression on Maura's face when she caught a glimpse of what Jane had in her hands.

"Hey… why're you so interested in the obituaries?" Jane asked, turning her attention to the woman next to her and pointing to a few circled names.

When Maura didn't answer her right away, she glanced back down at the paper and felt a pit open up deep in her stomach.

"And why the hell've you got my husband's name circled on here?"

That pit slowly started to warm its way into anger as the pieces started to slide together, and before Maura had time to stammer her way through an explanation, Jane had leaned herself over into the backseat of the car and snatched up the box that she'd seen the blonde holding when she first climbed out of the car all the way back at the cemetery.

She opened it up to find a Bible. A nice Bible, to be fair, with the words of the Lord written in red, and fancy gold leaf running around the edges of the pages. But it wasn't the Bible itself that caught her attention. No, it was the name stamped on the bottom corner of the front cover, in gold leaf to match the pages.

_JANE._

She glanced back down at the newspaper in her hands. Looked carefully at the obituary for her husband, and saw that her name, too, had been circled, where she was mentioned as Casey's widow. And it all made sense.

The Bible. The way Maura had looked at her. Known who Jane was, before anyone had a chance to tell her, and known just by looking at her that she didn't have any money to take. And now she had her pockets stuffed with cash that should have been Jane's.

This woman had come to town with the pure intention of taking Jane for a fool, and probably had already done so to every other widow she could find in the papers. But she hadn't figured on spending this much time with one of her marks, and she certainly hadn't figured on Jane being so sharp.

Jane turned to Maura with a look so cold it made the rain feel like a hot spring.

"You're a goddamn grifter," Jane growled. "And I want my two hundred dollars."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the support so far for this story! You never quite know how many people are going to be interested in an idea until you put it out there, so it's always a great feeling when a fic is well-received. I'd like to tell you all the updates are going to be this frequent, but that is most likely not the case. Most of you probably know I've got a couple other fics on tap at the moment, and even though one of them should be finished in the very near future, real life commitments won't allow me time to update all of my stories every week. I will be doing my best though, and I have no intention of letting any of them fall through the cracks. Again, thank you for your support and your feedback so far- reviews are greatly appreciated as always, and I hope you enjoy the latest update! =)**

* * *

The thing you gotta know about Maura Isles is that she's not the type of person to be easily ruffled. Calm and quiet, like the clear blue ocean on a beautiful day; that's how Maura carried herself. 'Course, in her line of work, that type of self-control is just about required. But any sailor can tell you how quickly a storm turns tranquil waters into troubled ones, and how dangerous it is on the waves when the sea starts wrestling with the wind.

Jane had managed to send a ripple right through the composure of that beautiful stranger, and Maura was finding it mighty difficult to get it settled back down again.

"I'm sorry, you… you want _what_?" she stammered from behind the wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"You heard me. I know what you are, and you got somethin' that belongs to me."

Might as well go ahead and tell you now that Maura wasn't your average grifter. She was damn smart, and she had a way of twisting words that coulda put just about any other trickster to instant shame. There was a reason she had to be so careful with what she said, of course, but you won't find out more about that 'til a little later.

The point is, she was so good at her trade that she wasn't used to being caught. She didn't rightly know how to deal with it, least not in any way other than heading for the state line, which she couldn't hardly do with Jane strapped in the car next to her. It took _time_ for her to craft her tricks, and when you got your mark sitting right next to you in a moving vehicle, well… that don't really give you a whole lot of opportunity to plan your words too carefully.

So instead of talking just yet, Maura decided to chance a look over at the widow seated next to her in the car. Under other circumstances she might've laughed at the way the angry woman still kept her arm clutched up against her chest to keep it from getting dripped on. But that look in her eyes, like hot coals ready to scorch the first thing they touched, kept any thought of laughter far from mind.

"Jane," she finally responded as calmly as possible, "I don't know what's put you under the impression that I-"

Jane shoved the newspaper accusingly into Maura's lap and sighed in annoyance when her arm got caught back under that leak in the roof.

"I shoulda never gotten in this car with you," she grumbled, angrily wiping rainwater from her sleeve. "But I did, and now you're gonna give me what's mine. And then _maybe _I won't tell the sheriff what you done."

It was an attempt at scaring Maura into cooperation, of course, and most people probably would've taken one look at the intensity of Jane's gaze and figured they'd do just about anything she told them to. But Maura was different, and she didn't take too kindly to manipulation when it was aimed her way. On top of that, she had a look of her own that could send grown men running for the hills. She'd used it on Leroy, and now she was gonna use it on Jane.

"Are you _threatening _me?"

But her glare had just about the same effect on Jane that Jane's had on her, and it was clear neither woman had any intention of backing down.

"If you got your money honestly, I'd have nothin' to threaten with, now, would I?"

"Well, if I hadn't gone to the mill to speak with Leroy myself, you never would've seen a single penny from him."

"I still _haven't _seen a single penny!" Jane exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "'Cause you got 'em all stuffed in your own damn pockets!"

Maura turned her eyes back to the road while she tried to think of a proper response, but she could still feel Jane's gaze boring a hole right through her up until the very moment the younger woman turned to look out her own window with a shake of her head and an impatient scoff.

"'Least you ain't denyin' you _got _it."

"It seems that argument would be highly indefensible."

"Well then stop tryin' to defend yourself!"

Maura had just turned her head with a retort on the tip of her tongue when the car bounced roughly through a deep rut in the road, all filled with mud and rain and the kinda things that kept most people indoors on days like that particular Tuesday. Poor Jane got hit with another blast of dirty water through that hole in the roof, but before she even had time to complain about it, as she most certainly would have, they both felt the repetitive _thunk_ of a damaged tire.

"Oh, no. No, no no," Jane groaned. "Not in the damn _rain_."

"Don't be so morose," Maura snapped in response. "There must be a mechanic somewhere in this town of yours, and tires are certainly easy enough to replace."

"If you can get to a shop to _get _it replaced."

"Well, just how far _is_ it?" the older woman sighed with an irritated roll of her eyes.

"Off the main road a ways. But you can't hardly drive there with a bad wheel."

It was clear from the expression on Jane's face that she thought Maura was a pure fool for thinking she could drive on a flat tire. And truly, smart as she was, you can bet Maura knew it wasn't an option that was entirely conducive to keeping the car in good condition. But when the alternative involved either pulling over and waiting for a good samaritan to come along, or walking to the shop in the gloomy downpour, both of which would inevitably mean more time spent alone with the insufferable woman next to her, the risk to the car seemed like one worth taking.

"Tell me which way to turn," she said, pointedly ignoring the incredulous glare Jane shot in her direction. "We'll get there."

* * *

A few minutes (and a few disparaging remarks) later, the car was parked safely at the local garage, and Jane and Maura were headed to the café across the street while they waited for a set of fresh tires.

"Wouldn't need a whole new set if you'd listened to me," Jane huffed as she slid into a booth.

Once the blonde had taken her seat across from Jane, she leaned on the table and let her head come to rest against the palm of her hand, like even just being around the young brunette was terribly draining for her. And in truth, it kinda was. On the whole, the day had turned out far differently, and far _worse_, than she'd ever imagined it would, and she was hoping a little food would shut Jane right up.

So far, as you can tell, it wasn't looking all that promising.

"Could you _please_ just… _stop_," she sighed.

It almost seemed for a moment that Jane was gonna protest, and even the glare on her face made it look like she was about to start spitting fire, but instead she just snatched up a menu and started angrily browsing through.

"What can I get for you ladies today?" came the gratingly cheery voice of their waitress as she appeared next to their table.

Maura was the first to speak, and she managed to push aside her aggravation just long enough to offer a polite smile.

"I'd like a coffee, please. And a slice of pie. Coconut cream?"

"Orange Nehi and a Coney for me," Jane added.

Their waitress was gone only a minute before she had their food and drinks in hand, and Maura could practically feel her shoulders sag with relief when Jane's concentration turned to the hot dog on her plate instead of the money in Maura's pocket. But the relief was short lived, and the younger woman only took a bite before that scowl turned its way right back across the table.

"So," she prompted. "You ready to talk?"

She reached for her soda and took a sip, eyes trained intently on the blonde woman seated across from her. But Maura just narrowed her own eyes and calmly took another bite of her pie, which, as you can surely imagine, didn't sit all that rightly with Jane. Matter of fact, mad as she was already, most people'd probably rather come up against a nest of hornets than piss her off any further.

But most people ain't Maura Isles.

"You really think you're gonna get away with doin' this?" Jane hissed. "You really think you can just… just take advantage of people like that?"

This earned a shrug and, finally, a response.

"I've managed it plenty of other times, Jane."

"Yeah, well, you ain't never '_managed_' me before. And you best not plan on startin' now."

She shot her a look that could have singed the fur off a bobcat, but Maura just kept right on calmly eating her pie. And Jane, well… she just kept getting herself madder and madder, while the hot dog on her plate kept getting colder and colder. Maura didn't fail to notice that little fact, and she lifted her spoon to point at the partially eaten Coney with her eyebrows raised authoritatively.

"Eat your Coney Island, Jane," she instructed. "We'll discuss this later."

"You can't just keep puttin' this off."

Maura let out an aggravated sigh and then scooped up another bit of coconut cream onto her spoon.

"I will not discuss this until I've finished eating, so you may as well eat your Coney."

"You'll sure as hell discuss it when the sheriff gets here."

"Then _call _the sheriff, Jane. _Go ahead_," Maura countered angrily. "Perhaps then I'll actually be able to finish my pie in peace before he arrives. And I am _quite_ certain he'll be more tolerable to deal with than you."

She drove her spoon down into that slice like it'd personally done her wrong, and Jane just stared at her in frustrated astonishment. This woman, daring to act as if Jane was the cause of their trouble, when _she _was the one cheating widows out of their due. _She _was the one with a fistful of Jane's money, holding onto it like an angry bulldog. _She _was the one-

"There's relish on that table over there," Maura added between bites, tilting her head toward an empty table next to their booth. "If you need it for your Coney."

Jane almost considered not getting up for it, just because Maura had told her to. Just because that woman _wanted _her to eat the damn thing, she'd rather just sit all quiet and wait for the answers she knew she deserved. For the _money _she knew she deserved.

But she _was_ kinda hungry, and she'd never eaten a Coney Island without relish before, and she didn't figure today was a good day to start. So she rolled her eyes and pushed herself out of that booth with a scowl on her face. She snatched up that jar of relish and then she sat herself right back down and grumpily plopped a few spoonfuls onto her hot dog.

It was quite comical, really, a young lady looking so angry at a spoonful of chopped pickles. But it probably goes without saying that neither one of them was laughing.

It was a few minutes before either of them had finished eating, and not a word had been spoken since Jane made her pouty grab for the relish. They barely even looked at each other, but you may as well know they glared at their food like they were glaring right at each other the whole time. It wasn't until Maura set her spoon gently down on her empty pie plate and took a sip of her coffee that she finally deemed it time to speak, and by then she'd had enough time to cool herself down and formulate what she thought to be a proper explanation.

"Jane," she began calmly, _annoyingly _calmly, as far as Jane was concerned, "You're correct in claiming that I managed to get two hundred dollars from Leroy on your behalf, and I understand why you believe you're entitled to that. But don't you think I'm entitled to a share of it as well? For _getting _it for you?"

"You ain't done shit but say a few words to that old fool," Jane snorted. "I coulda done that myself."

"But you didn't, Jane. Because you didn't even _think _to."

"Well, I'm sure if I pulled tricks for a living, it'd come second nature to me, too. But I got a little thing called _scruples_ that keeps me doin' right."

Maura let out a little sigh and shook her head.

"I have scruples, too, Jane."

Now, that was just too much for the younger woman not to laugh at, and she let out one of the most disdainful chuckles Maura'd ever heard. Or at the very least, certainly the most contemptuous that had ever actually been directed her way.

"Well, I do doubt you got yourself any scruples, there, Maura. But if you got 'em, I'd sure as hell bet they belong to someone else."

She crossed her arms and watched with a sense of satisfaction as Maura's face began to darken with frustration, but before the blonde could get out any words in protest, Jane had already leaned across the table and started speaking again.

"I want the money, Maura. _All _of it. You got it unfairly, least you can do is give it to the person it belongs to."

"Oh, so you don't mind how I make my money, as long as it's _your _pockets being filled?" Now it was Maura's turn to laugh as she leaned in to match Jane's gaze with her voice so low it sounded nearly venomous. "Perhaps I really _did _steal someone else's scruples, Jane. It would certainly explain where yours have disappeared to."

"Now you just hold up," Jane growled. "You done got the money, and there's no way of givin' it back without makin' Leroy suspicious of _both _of us. But you know what would happen if I called the sheriff right now? He'd make you give every penny to me. And you know why? Because it's _my _settlement. Because _my _husband wound up _dead_, all 'cause some drunk don't know his gun from his pecker. That's _my _money you got, and I want it."

"And you don't think I deserve a single cent?" Maura protested angrily, struggling to keep her voice quiet as her frustration rose. "You wouldn't have _any_ of it without me. You wouldn't even be on your way out of this dated old town if it wasn't for me. And you don't think I deserve any compensation? You don't think I deserve _anything_ for taking you along to Demopolis? For putting up with you all the way to the county line? Because I can tell you already that two hundred dollars is nowhere _near _enough payment for that."

"Well then give me the damn money and I'll find someone else to take me."

For Maura, who'd already seen the way Jane's neighbors practically stumbled over themselves just to get the woman off their hands, that was the easiest bluff in the world to call.

"Of course you will. Because everyone in this town seemed so keen on traveling with you in the first place. At least now I know _why_."

Even as angry as she was, and even though Maura was more or less a complete stranger, those words still hit a mark inside the younger woman. She tried not to let on, of course, but the briefest pause in her argument, and the briefest flicker of pain behind her furious expression gave her away almost instantly. It was bad enough to lose her husband in a town full of near strangers, but to hear it thrown so bluntly in her face like that, well… that kinda thing's hard to just brush off.

But Jane sure as hell tried.

"You knew I didn't have nothin' to give you for takin' me up north with you. You knew it, and you said you'd take me anyway. So, do I think you deserve it? No. I don't. I think _I'm _the one who's gotta show up at my Mama's doorstep empty-handed. I think _I'm _the one who's gotta go be a burden on my family because I ain't got _nothin' _to offer 'em for takin' me in. Do I _deserve _that money? Probably not. But I know I _need _it more than you do, and that's the only thing that matters to me."

"And do you know what _I _need, Jane?" came the counter. "I need new tires for the vehicle that's supposed to get us to the county line. I need to fix that hole in the roof, so you'll stop acting like a petulant child every time a drop of water lands on you. I-"

"Hey, that's-"

"- need to pay for this meal, and for our dinner later this evening, and for a rail ticket to get you to St. Joe, and a telegram to tell your family that you're on your way. And it's quite possible that I may need to pay for overnight lodgings for the two of us, depending upon the schedule of the train when we arrive. Those things cost _money_, Jane. Money that I did not have when you got in my car this morning, and money that I will not have if I give you what's in my pockets."

She paused for a moment to let out a sigh, and when she caught the look on Jane's face, it seemed pretty apparent that they were both running out of steam for their arguments. 'Bout time, really, but to be fair, it truly was something that they needed to hash out before things got too rough. And it seemed like, just maybe, they were starting to get somewhere.

"I understand that you don't want to turn up penniless at your parents' home, Jane. But if I give you this two hundred dollars now, you won't be turning up there at all."

Jane took a sip of her Nehi and mulled that thought over. Wondering if it was really worth it to risk traveling all that way with a manipulative, high-handed grifter who'd just as soon sell her for scrap than put her on a train to her family. But perhaps most importantly, wondering if she really had any other viable options. And as you can probably figure by now, the answer to that question was a pretty clear _No_.

So she let out a sigh of her own and set her bottle back down on the table.

"Alright," she said with a nod. "Then you can consider that a two hundred dollar loan. Payable by the time we reach Demopolis."

"I'm… sorry, what?"

"You ain't never heard of a _loan _before, Miss Money?" she smirked.

Maura was not amused.

"I know what a loan is, Jane. You can't honestly expect me to pay back two hundred dollars in the time it will take us to drive to the city."

"But I can, and I do. And you _will_."

She sat back against the booth and watched as Maura got that flustered look about her again. The one that she'd found so amusing earlier on in the morning, and here it was coming back to give her another little surge of satisfaction to make up for the headache that her day had been so far. Now, granted, Maura's day hadn't exactly been an enjoyable one either, but Jane was far too busy gloating to really care much about that.

"And just how, exactly, do you expect me to make that kind of money so quickly?" Maura protested.

But Jane just chuckled and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Two hundred dollars shouldn't be nothin' for a big time con artist like you, right?"

She watched with amusement as Maura's face flushed instantly, a mixture of anger and embarrassment, and then turned toward the front window of the cafe to check on the status of their ride. She could just see the mechanic, one of Casey's friends, she was almost sure, pulling it up in front of his shop, letting them know their chariot was all ready to hit the road. And by now, so was Jane.

The younger woman glanced at Maura with a smile so smug anyone passing by woulda thought _she _was the one swindling her way across the south. But for now, she'd just leave that part to the professional.

"Alright, Miss Money," she grinned as she pushed herself up from the booth, pausing one last time to enjoy the defeated scowl on Maura's face. "Let's see what you got."


	3. Chapter 3

**Probably won't have another update done for this one for a couple weeks- I'm hitting the end of my summer semester right about now, so I've got papers and things coming due very soon that will be monopolizing my attention. Hopefully this will hold you over til I get back! Thanks again for checking this one out, and for all the feedback so far- it's always very much appreciated! Enjoy! =)**

* * *

"So, this is the one, huh?"

They were the first words either woman had spoken since they pulled out of the service station nearly half an hour ago, with new tires kicking up dirt and a roof finally set to keep its occupants dry. Jane sat a bit more comfortably in her seat, of course, now that she didn't have to cradle her arm like a newborn, and so far even driving along the muddy back-country roads had proved to be quite a smooth ride with their new wheels. But the improvements to the car certainly didn't serve as improvements to Maura's mood, and if you asked Jane, she'd tell you the scowl on that woman's face got deeper and deeper the farther they drove.

So, when they pulled over next to a run-down little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and Jane finally spoke into the silence, she probably shouldn't have been too surprised to find that her companion didn't give her a real friendly response. Matter of fact, Maura didn't give her much of a response at all, other than to silently nod her head while reaching into the backseat and grabbing out one of a few dozen Bible boxes.

This soured Jane right up to match her.

"Not even gonna _speak_ to me now?" she huffed in disbelief. "That's how you wanna play this?"

"As you'll recall, _Miss Rizzoli_, I had no interest in 'playing this' to begin with. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't intend to waste my time answering your needless questions."

The look that woman shot across the car was more threatening than the gleam of a wolf's teeth in the moonlight, and given the way Jane had her all backed up into the metaphorical corner, the young widow probably should've been ready to get snapped at by a desperate set of jaws. But Jane figured she had better things to be afraid of than wolves, and she sure as hell wasn't about to be scared of Maura.

"If you expect me to keep quiet about this game you done got yourself wrapped up in, then you damn well better answer any '_needless_' question I got," she growled.

Her vague threat went completely ignored by the older woman, who chose, instead, to reach under the front seat and pull out a worn-looking dress box from a place called _Caroline's_. Tattered and shabby, yet grabbed with a sense of purpose that seemed downright unfitting for the likes of some threadbare, old garment. So it probably shouldn't surprise you to know that when the lid came off that box, Jane didn't set her eyes on a dress.

"Holy- _hell!_"

She caught a glimpse of metal as it slipped into Maura's hand, and she jumped right back against the door of the car like it, alone, could save her from the same fate as her dearly departed.

_This is it, _she thought to herself. _This is how it ends- shot up by a pissed off stranger and left to rot on some poor widow's doorstep_.

But the shot never rang out. The pain never took off like a rocket through her chest.

She peeked her eyes open and found a set of curious hazel ones focused on her in only barely muted confusion. And with a frown, Jane lowered her eyes to get a better look at what was hanging loosely in Maura's grip. 'Course, she had no idea what the hell it _was_, but she could tell pretty clearly that it wasn't any type of gun she'd ever laid eyes on. Looked more like something she'd have caught her husband tinkering with back at the house, trying to make some tool at the mill work just a little better so he could exert himself just a little less.

"I wouldn't consider myself a theologian, but the phrase 'holy hell' seems a bit contradictory to me," Maura stated, her voice laced with such a clear tone of amusement that it made Jane's cheeks burn a bright shade of red. Then the blonde narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and added, "Did you honestly believe I was going to _shoot _you?"

Poor Jane's heart was still racing faster than a thoroughbred at the track, but she sure tried her hardest to hide it behind an annoyed glare aimed right in Maura's direction. She wasn't about to let some lowlife con think they got the upper hand on her. No, sir.

"'Course not!" she scoffed, sliding over a few inches on the seat. Back to her original position, and still glowering at the blonde like she'd actually gone and put a bullet in her. "But you… you gotta be _careful_… 'cause people 'round here are apt to pull the trigger first and _then _go lookin' at whatever it is you got in your…"

She dropped her eyes back down to the strange device laying innocently across the other woman's lap, then forced herself to return her gaze to Maura's. And the twinkle behind those golden-green irises etched a frown even deeper into her skin.

"Well, what the hell _is _that thing, anyway?" she snapped.

She shot her eyebrows up and crossed her arms, and she fixed her angry expression on the telltale twitch at the corner of Maura's mouth.

"This ain't funny, ya know."

"I don't believe I said it was," Maura responded, so calmly it managed to irk Jane even more.

"You're sittin' there tryin' not to laugh!"

"I'm not laughing about the fact that you were fright-"

"I was _not _scared, I just-"

"_Jane_."

Even Jane was surprised how quickly she shut herself right up when she heard the sudden change in Maura's tone. It wasn't all that angry, really, just… _firm_. Authoritative. But even through that shift in her voice, Jane could still make out the sparkle behind her commanding expression, and the amusement behind the raise of her eyebrows. Didn't go over too well with Jane, as you might imagine, but Maura opened her mouth to speak again before Jane even got half a chance to.

"I'm sure it was very frightening for you to believe that I had a firearm pointed in your direction. For that, I apologize. But, honestly, if I had any true intention of shooting you, I certainly wouldn't do it in broad daylight in front of someone's home. That would be incredibly foolish."

"Wow," Jane snorted, "that makes me feel _loads_ better. So I've got, what, eight hours til sundown? That when my clock runs out?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Jane," Maura sighed, giving her eyes a roll that aggravated the younger woman even further, "I'm not going to harm you. I'm simply pointing out that my judgment is better than you apparently give me any credit for."

"Right. 'Cause rippin' people off shoulda plain told me how great your judgment is."

It was just about then that the last ounce of playfulness disappeared from Maura's gaze, and Jane expected to get herself fixed with a scowl or a tirade to raise both their bloods back to a quick boil.

But it wasn't pure anger she saw in the glare Maura shot her.

Not saying that Maura wasn't angry, of course, 'cause she sure was. But there was something else in that look, too. Something a little softer. A little sadder, maybe, and even just the hint of it started to sand down the edges of Jane's irritation.

"I may not meet your high standards of moral excellence," Maura said quietly, "but I assure you, I'm not a killer."

And just like that, she took her eyes from the dark brown ones focused so intently on hers, and she turned them down toward that box in her lap, rifling through the contents to find something that Jane couldn't quite make out. Sounded almost like the muffled clink of bullets, far as Jane could tell from where she sat on the other side of the car, but til she got a closer look, she wouldn't be able to know for sure.

And she really _did _want to know.

So, after a few seconds, she plucked up the courage to ask… but not without doing her very best to keep her pride intact.

"Okay…" she began hesitantly, with her arms still crossed and a purposeful hint of aggravation still entwined in her speech, "… so, you gonna tell me what that thing actually is? Or am I s'posed to guess?"

"I'm not sure that's a particularly good idea, given your opposition to my line of work. I should think it easier on your conscience for you to remain as ignorant as possible."

"Well, I already know _what _you do," Jane argued, waiting for Maura to meet her gaze before giving a shrug and continuing, "Can't imagine it'd be any worse to find out _how_."

For a second, she started to think Maura would just ignore her again. Figure her question was 'needless' and just get back to whatever the hell it was she was doing with that tawdry old box she still had perched on her lap. It wouldn't have been all that surprising, really, given how their interactions had been moving along up to that point.

But Maura didn't turn away. She just watched her silently for a moment, examining her. Trying to decide how much trust she could put in this abrasive young woman who seemed to feel a particular sense of antipathy toward her. And, make no mistake, it was a very _mutual _feeling, to be sure. But for some reason she herself couldn't even figure out, that pretty little grifter decided to put down a bet.

"Alright," she said with a nod. "Come and take a look, then."

It only took Jane a second to scoot herself over far enough to get a good look down into that box. She poked her head right in next to Maura's and watched while a delicate hand searched intently through a bunch of tiny, metal rectangles, grabbing up a few before pulling back to reveal that each one had a different letter of the alphabet shaped skillfully from its surface. Maura had five of those little pieces in her hand when she finally opened up her palm so Jane could get a glimpse.

_A-R-P-E-L._

"Arpel?" Jane asked quietly, her scowl finally gone and replaced with a look of sheer confusion. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"They're not in the proper order, Jane. Here… give me a moment."

The older woman turned around and briefly searched the backseat of the car for something, then came back with the same newspaper Jane had angrily thrown at her just a few hours prior. Instead of throwing it right back (which Jane, admittedly, flinched in preparation for), she set it down gently on the brunette's lap and pointed at an obituary she'd circled.

"Rudolph Morgan… 58… died Thursday…" Jane read aloud, while Maura opened up the smaller box on the seat next to her and pulled out a sturdy, leather copy of the good book. "Survived by his beloved wife, Pearl."

Jane glanced up from the paper and raised her eyebrows at Maura, which earned her a patient smile.

"That's what the letters are for?"

Maura nodded and clicked those five little letters into place on the edge of the strange metal contraption that Jane had nearly pissed herself over, and then she reached back down into the dress box and pulled out a small sheet of gold leaf.

"Wait, you… you customize 'em _yourself_?"

"Well, don't sound so shocked," Maura chuckled as she carefully, smoothly stretched the gold leaf across each letter. "It isn't that difficult, really. Just takes a steady hand and…"

She paused and lined up the edge of the Bible with the faint outline of _P-E-A-R-L_ underneath the thin sheet of gold, then squeezed firmly until the gilding set into place against the leather. And once it was finished, she pulled the contraption away and set it back in the dress box, shaking her hand with a wince.

"…a bit of a grip," she finally finished, gently massaging the muscles of her right hand with the fingers of her left.

But Jane's attention was on the sparkling _PEARL _that now shone from the leather of the Bible as if it'd been tattooed onto the very heifer it came from. It was downright flawless, far as she could tell, and it looked so professional that she had to wonder,

"If you're so good at doin' this kinda stuff, why don't you just make an _honest_ go of it? Hell, I couldn't tell the difference between what you just did and the books they special order all the way from the coast. Sure bet people'd shell out the coin for somethin' a bit more local."

Maura snapped off each one of the letters and returned them to the dress box, then replaced the lid and slid it back under her seat.

"I appreciate the compliment," she said with a half-hearted smile, "but people these days don't like to open their wallets for anything they don't consider a necessity."

"Well, then, how do you manage to convince these widows to buy your Bibles?"

"I convince them it's a necessity."

She said it like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. And, for Maura, it very nearly was. But Jane sure didn't understand how you could convince someone that a book was more important than filling an empty stomach, and the look on her face showed her confusion plain as day.

"I don't get what you mean," she admitted.

Maura sighed and turned to face her more directly, intending to make her meaning more clear.

"Jane, how would you react if you found out that your husband had purchased a gift for you just before he died? And I don't mean a flower, or some trinket he spotted at the general store. I mean a real, personalized gift that he sent away for, just for you. How would you feel, knowing that he thought so affectionately of you even in his final days?"

The young widow didn't even have to answer the question in order to follow where Maura was going with it, and she slowly shook her head in disbelief.

"I _know _you're not sayin' you pin this on someone who ain't alive to set it right."

"I'm simply saying that people are far more willing to spend their money when it involves a positive memory of their lost loved one."

"But that ain't a real memory!" Jane nearly shouted.

"Happiness is happiness, Jane," Maura pressed right back. "Whether it's based on something true, or something fabricated… the feeling is the same."

"Yeah," the younger woman scoffed, "until they find out you lied to 'em."

"They _won't _find out."

"I guess it'd make you feel better to keep on thinkin' that, now, won't it?"

"I can't imagine how or why anyone would wish to rob them of that memory, real or not, as long as it brings them joy while they continue living on this earth without the one they lost," Maura snapped, eyes flashing in annoyance. "And should those individuals reach the pearly gates, I'm quite certain they'll have more pressing things to discuss than what gifts their husbands did or did not purchase for them."

She snatched the newspaper back from Jane's lap and tossed it into the backseat, then returned the book in her hands to its box and fixed an icy stare on her younger companion.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need to actually _sell _this one, if you have any intention of receiving compensation for the loan that you've so _graciously _given me less than twenty-four hours to repay."

In a huff, she pushed open her car door and began to step out into the light rain, turning her glare up toward the sky and muttering a few choice words under her breath. She had her grip on the door, ready to push it closed, when Jane called out a final question.

"Why Bibles?" she asked, the honest curiosity in her question almost, _almost, _enough to put a damper on Maura's frustration. "You could sell 'em anything, right? So… why'd you decide to go peddlin' the word of God himself?"

Maura tossed her a smile that coulda shamed the Cheshire Cat right back up onto his tree branch.

"Now, Jane," she explained patiently, "is it really so hard to believe that I just want to save a few souls?"

And before Jane could surely give her the answer she knew she'd get, she slammed the door shut and headed up to greet her next mark.

* * *

_Doesn't understand a damned _thing _about business, sending me out to do work in the rain, _Maura thought angrily as she knocked at the farmhouse door.

Normally she found raindrops to be a very comforting sound, 'cause she'd just lie awake in whatever bed she'd paid for and listen to it rolling off the roof over her head. Didn't matter where she was, or what she'd gotten herself up to; the rain always sounded the same.

But today she worried it would work against her. Bad weather, at least in her experience, always seemed to sour people's moods faster than the hot sun could turn a bottle of milk.

_I won't make a _dime_ today, and I'll end up stuck with that horrid young woman until the day I die._

The door opened in front of her, and she tried to paste on the best smile she could manage. Wasn't the best smile she'd ever given, of course, but under the circumstances, she figured it'd do just fine.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," she said politely, as the tired face of Pearl Morgan appeared in the doorway. "Would it be possible for me to speak with Mr. Rudolph Morgan, please?"

Pearl just kinda stared at her for a few seconds, like she wasn't quite sure what Maura even really asked. But then she gave a sad shake of her head and told the stranger on her doorstep the same news she'd been crying about for days.

"I'm afraid Mr. Morgan's passed on," she said quietly.

Maura felt the smile slip from her face, same as it always did when the widows delivered the news. 'Course, it was easy enough to express sympathy in the face of someone who was hurting so badly. Far as Maura was concerned, anyone with a beating heart had to feel _something _for these women.

Just so happened that she could look right past that sympathy long enough to put food on her table and clothes on her back. And if any scars were gonna come with the territory, why… she'd just have to manage those when they reared their ugly heads.

"Oh… oh, I'm so _sorry_," Maura stammered, taking half a step back, as if she was actually making to leave without getting what she came for. It was pretty convincing to the woman in the doorway, of course, but from where Jane sat in the car, the move was almost laughable. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Morgan. I won't trouble you-"

"What is it you needed him for?" the widow asked before she could step away.

And this part was always where the real work began.

"Oh. Well, ma'am… I have this Bible, here," she began slowly. "For someone named Pearl?"

She pulled the book from its box and showed it to the woman in the doorway, who gave a sad smile and a confirmatory nod.

"That'd be me. I'm Pearl."

"Under the circumstances, ma'am, you're certainly under no obligation to-"

"What's goin' on out here, Pearly?" a gruff voice called from inside the house. "You're lettin' in the rain."

Even just the sound of a man's voice in the house put Maura on edge, mainly just 'cause she was so used to dealing purely with women when it came to selling Bibles. But when the owner of that growl appeared in the doorway with a shiny badge pinned to his chest, you better believe her heart picked up its pace so fast she thought she was bound for an early grave herself.

"Says she got a Bible for Rudolph," Pearl answered with a smile. "He must've ordered it for me weeks ago, the scoundrel. I thought he'd forget my birthday again, just like he always seems to."

"Let me see that," the bulky sheriff requested, his gravelly tone barking it out more like a direct order.

Maura calmly handed the book into his outstretched palm and watched while he examined it closely, turning it over in his hands before narrowing his eyes at her and asking,

"Where'd you say you from, Miss…?"

"It's Miss Isles," she said, flashing what she hoped would be a convincing smile. Unfortunately for Miss Isles, though, that lawman was completely unfazed by her glittering grin.

Now, that wasn't something Maura was entirely _used _to, of course, but she'd certainly met her fair share of men who didn't find themselves shaken by the sight of her pearly whites. It happened every now and again, and it didn't normally bother her one bit. But the stakes were a lot higher on that porch, there, with that shiny badge hanging all menacingly in front of her eyes like it was. Took a lot of willpower to keep that smile on her face, and to keep the shake out of her fingertips as she reached down into her pocket to pull out a tiny, white business card.

"You'll see here, on the card, sir," she said as she handed it over, "…Kansas Bible Company."

"Ain't never heard of no 'Kansas Bible Company.'"

"We're… we're rather a small business. We mostly operate on recommendations, and do small, custom prints."

He fixed her with a look so skeptical it made her take an involuntary step back, nearly right off the edge of the front porch. She couldn't tell if the sheriff noticed it, but even from all the way down at the car, Jane sure did.

"Custom, huh?" the sheriff pressed, using his free hand to scratch at a patch of stubble while keeping his penetrating gaze glued to Maura's.

"Yes, sir. The, uh… the gold leaf-"

"Miss Maura?" came a familiar voice from down by the road.

Maura felt herself freeze right up at the sound of that voice, and if she wasn't already in a panic at the sight of the sheriff standing in front of her, the thought of Jane turning her over to the law damn near sent her right into one.

"Not to interrupt the business, but we still gotta get to the church to pray for my…" Jane cut off her sentence with a sniff so realistic that not even Maura could tell whether it was authentic. And then she cleared her throat and added, "…for my Casey."

_What in God's name is she-_

"Poor dear," Pearl whispered from the doorway. "Has she lost someone?"

And Jane's interruption suddenly made sense. 'Course, Maura figured she'd have the displeasure of thanking her later, but even losing a little face would be worth it if she could get out of that situation without staring down the inside of a jail cell.

So she nodded solemnly and took in a deep breath, glad, as you can imagine, for an excuse to tear her eyes from the sheriff's.

"Her husband passed very recently. A tragic accident. And we… we really must be going, actually."

She forced a smile to her face one last time and reached out to take the Bible from the hands of the lawman, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.

"Under the circumstances, of course, you're under no obligation to take the Bible. I'll just return the dollar deposit and be on my way. And, again, Mrs. Morgan, I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

She shoved the bill into the sheriff's hand so fast you'd have thought it burned each nerve ending it touched, and then she nearly flew right down off that porch. She'd almost made it to the car, too, when she heard him call out for her.

"Wait! Wait, miss!"

There was the briefest of moments where Maura thought about just climbing on up into her automobile and gunning the engine til they got that house so far in their rearview she could finally stop her heart from pounding its way out of her chest. But Jane, still standing next to the car, saw the thought pass behind her eyes and gave her head a quick shake.

_She's right, _she thought grimly. _Running will only make us look guilty._

"How much?" the sheriff huffed as he slowed his jog to a walk.

"I'm… I'm sorry?"

"For the Bible. How much?"

As you'll remember, of course, that was what Maura had come all the way out to do in the first place. Sell that Bible. But she was so focused on getting out without cuffs on her wrists that even just the thought of making a sale had escaped her almost completely.

"Oh, that's the, uh… that's the twelve dollar one," Jane piped up. "Deluxe edition, custom gilding."

Maura's eyes got wide and fearful, hearing Jane throw out a price so unbearably high. She just about figured Jane really _was_ trying to get her thrown behind bars, and she turned back to the sheriff with every intention of practically giving him the damn thing free of charge.

"Well, sir, I think under the circumstances, I'm sure we could-"

"It's no trouble, Miss," the sheriff assured her with a wave of his hand. His wallet came out and he slipped twelve bills into Maura's fingertips, exchanging them for the book before turning his head to take a quick glance up toward the house. "If it puts a smile back on that woman's face, it's worth every penny. Much obliged."

And, just like that, he turned his back, made his way up to the porch, and,_ finally_, disappeared out of their sight.

"Get in the car," Maura whispered urgently, following her own order before Jane even had time to process it.

"Aw, he ain't gonna figure it out, Maura. You said yourself-"

"Just _get in_," she hissed as she slid in behind the wheel.

With a roll of her eyes, Jane climbed on up into her seat with barely even enough time to close the door before Maura had her foot on the accelerator. They shot off so fast her head nearly collided with the window, and the only reason she didn't open her mouth for a smartass remark about it was 'cause she could still tell how shaken the woman behind the wheel truly was.

If you asked her, she'd say she just didn't want to risk pissing off the driver and getting them tangled up in a tree somewhere. But that ain't really the whole truth, and she knows it.

"Hey, it's… they ain't gonna come after us or nothin', ya know? You can slow down a little."

Maura didn't say a word, but Jane knew she heard her, 'cause the car slowed right up in response.

"Got twelve dollars out of it, anyway."

"Are you trying to get me thrown in jail?" Maura suddenly snapped. "_Twelve dollars_? I've never in my life heard of a Bible that costs twelve dollars, and I'm surprised that sheriff didn't put us _both_ in irons."

It took Jane a second to realize she was getting yelled at instead of thanked, and once she figured it out, you can bet she wasn't real pleased.

"Oh, gee, yeah, _you're_ _welcome_, by the way," came the venomous retort. "Since it looked like you were really knockin' 'em dead up there on your own. _Jesus. _How the hell do you even manage by yourself? You were about to get your damn _self _thrown behind bars!"

"I would have done just fine if I didn't have such a restrictive demand on my time. Making sales in bad weather is a _terrible _idea. It always is. But you seem to think-"

"Don't you _dare_ go turnin' this around on me. _You _got yourself into this situation. All's I did was come in to save your sorry ass when it looked like you were gettin' in a little trouble. But you won't have to worry 'bout that again. Next time I'll just let you fall right on it."

She crossed her arms and faced herself out the window, ready to completely ignore whatever argument Maura had left to fire her way. Just waiting for the words to start flying at her again, like she sure figured they were about to.

But the other side of the car was quiet for so long that she eventually found herself looking over just to make sure there was still someone behind the wheel.

"You're right," Maura said softly.

She glanced over at Jane and let out a little sigh.

"I really am grateful for your help. I know it would have been far easier for you to just stay in the car and let me get my due."

"Woulda been far more entertaining, _that's_ for sure."

Maura turned her attention back to the younger woman with a frown ready on her face, but found a tentative smile on Jane's lips that melted her anger all the way down into a light chuckle.

"I'm sure, for _you_, that it would have been."

Almost as an afterthought, she reached down into her pocket and pulled out the twelve dollars she'd made from the sale, then handed them right over to Jane with a nod. It wasn't til the brunette had those bills in her pocket and her eyes back on Maura's that the older woman's appreciation finally found its way into the sentence Jane had been waiting for.

"Thank you, Jane," Maura said sincerely.

Jane just leaned back in her seat and propped her feet up on the dash with a dimpled smile that Maura almost might've found endearing, if it had been on the face of someone she didn't find so incredibly aggravating. And, after a few seconds, the younger woman fixed a set of deep brown eyes on her and opened her mouth just to further solidify Maura's opinion.

"Don't go thankin' me just yet, Money," Jane grinned, giving her pocket a gentle pat. "You still got a hundred and eighty-eight dollars to go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for all the wonderful support I've been getting for this story- I'm very glad to hear you're enjoying it so far! I've got a lot of exciting things planned for this one, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting them written and getting them out to you. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated! Especially as we're still so early on in the story, I'm particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on how things are going so far. Thank you again for taking the time to read and to leave your reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy our little grifting adventure! =)**

* * *

Fortunately for Maura, (and Jane, too, truth be told), the rest of the afternoon went by a bit more smoothly than what they'd come across at their first stop. Maura got over the blow to her ego pretty quickly, as she always had to when things in her line of work didn't quite go as planned, and it wasn't long at all before her confidence was just about completely restored.

And, truly, that's exactly how it should have been. That's not even the bias talking here, that's just how it is. Pure fact, plain and simple; Maura Isles was damn good at what she did, and she had every right to be confident in it.

The problem was, from Jane's perspective, of course, that the money wasn't coming in as fast as she thought it would. The young widow didn't have her pockets stuffed full of bills, with a train ticket in one hand and a cigar in the other. She didn't have a suitcase full of gifts for her family, or a new set of trousers to ring their doorbell in.

Matter of fact, by the time they'd pulled off the road for a bite of dinner, with the sun just barely peeking up over the hills in the distance, Jane still didn't even have _half _of what she was owed. And being that Demopolis was only a few miles away, why, it certainly wouldn't be a lie to say she was less than pleased about it.

"I tried to tell you that I couldn't make that kind of money in one day," Maura explained as she carefully cut a bite of pot roast and slipped it between her teeth.

"And I told _you _that you didn't have a choice."

"Do you honestly think that if I'd _had_ a choice, I would have chosen to extend my time with you?"

Now, that remark itself had really come more from a place of exhaustion than from actual anger, and Maura hadn't exactly meant it to be quite as sharp as it had come out. To be fair, she _had_ just spent her whole day under the watchful (and aggravating) eye of the young woman across from her, and there was every indication that she was gonna end up spending the next day doing just the same. On top of that, she knew the feeling was mutual, if not even stronger coming from Jane's end.

But she wasn't the only one tired and frustrated. No, sir.

Jane was feeling it pretty well by that point, too, and she was just tired enough that she didn't quite have anything left to defend herself with against the sting of Maura's words. They cut right on through her, and she was just tired enough to let them. Just tired enough that it took her a few seconds to deepen her scowl, trying to cover it up. Took her long enough that by the time she managed to get an angry frown worked across her face, Maura'd already spotted the flicker of hurt she'd caused, and it really made her regret snapping at Jane like she did. She knew she was just tired, and frustrated, and itching to get back on her own again, and even though the young widow was more or less responsible for the relative misery of her day so far, (or at least as far as she was concerned), she also kinda figured her response had been a tad bit unwarranted.

So, she let out a little sigh and shook her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she admitted.

"Yeah, well, it ain't exactly like I'm chompin' at the bit to be spendin' any more time with you, either," Jane grumbled in response.

And for just the briefest of moments, Jane saw that familiar bit of fire make its way right back in behind Maura's eyes again. Sorta like how a snake'll give you a warning glare just before it bites, if you're paying close enough attention to watch for it. 'Course, most people that get their ankles bit ain't really paying that much attention in the first place, but that's missing the point. The point is, _this _snake, _this _time, never actually followed through with a strike.

Jane waited for it, and she tensed up for it, and, hell, with the track record they had, she had every reason to expect that Maura would snap right back at her. In all honesty, Maura just about figured she was gonna lash out at her again, too.

But she didn't.

That glare ended up disappearing from her face just as quickly as it came, without even so much as a glimpse of venomous fangs to back it up.

And if that wasn't unexpected enough in itself, you can probably just imagine how much _more_ surprising it was for Jane to actually end up seeing a tired little smile peek its way across Maura's lips. Slow and faint, almost like she was embarrassed, but still most definitely a smile. And a damn pretty one, at that, although Jane would've gone to her grave before admitting it at the time.

Maura lowered her eyes to her plate, gently set her knife and fork down against the porcelain, and then returned her full attention to the woman across the table.

"Jane," she said softly, "I know you wanted to be on your way home to your family as soon as possible. And although you don't seem inclined to believe me, I can assure you that I really did try to make that happen. I _tried_ to get the money, but there simply hasn't been enough time for me to make all of what I owe you."

She paused, waiting to see if her companion would have a response. But Jane, for once, was silent. So Maura took a deep breath and kept going.

"I know you wanted to get on the next train out of here. I know you wanted to part ways from _me_, at the very least," she admitted, "but unless you intend to leave without the rest of your money, then I'm afraid I don't see any way for that to happen this evening."

"Well, I sure didn't spend all day drivin' around with you just to walk away without my money."

"And I understand that," Maura calmly continued, "but I can't-"

"_Hey_."

Maura wasn't quite sure whether it was the commanding way she spoke or the almost-amused raise of her eyebrows that did it, but there was something about Jane's interruption that actually managed to snare the older woman's attention. So, curious about why she was being cut off so rudely, she closed her mouth and leaned back in her seat.

And she was rewarded with the exact same type of exhausted half-smile that she'd shot in Jane's direction only a few minutes prior.

"You didn't let me finish my thought," Jane said quietly, bringing out that smile for another second before seeming to run out of the energy required to hold onto it.

She ran a hand back through her hair almost nervously, dragging her fingers through the same section of curls over and over until she finally realized what she was doing and dropped her hand immediately back down to her lap.

"Listen," she started back up again, "I was… I was just gonna tell ya I don't plan on lettin' ya off the hook or nothin', but I _do _know you were tryin'. I mean, I believe you about that, 'cause I could _see_ you were tryin'. You were out there workin' real hard, in the rain, even, and… hell, you were probably right about tryin' to sell stuff when it's comin' down like it has been all day. I know it ain't your fault, really, that you didn't make all that much."

Maura nodded appreciatively, and even found enough energy to bring back a brief smile of her own.

"Thank you for saying that," she said sincerely.

"Yeah, well… you're still gonna have to pay me back," Jane added. And after she'd waited a few seconds, making sure her message was received, she let out a little sigh and continued, "I'm just… I'm sayin' it's been a long day. We _both _had a long day. And if you wanna hang it up for the night and get back to it in the morning, then I guess I'm tellin' ya it's fine with me. 'Cause, honestly… I don't know if I can stay awake long enough to hit the road again."

She flashed an uncharacteristically sheepish grin, only finally allowing herself to relax when Maura returned it with a soft chuckle and a shake of her head.

"I'm not entirely sure I could, either," came the quiet agreement.

And soon enough, she felt herself getting fixed with a gaze so gentle she almost forgot how much she disliked the older woman. It was pretty clear that Maura'd just about forgotten for the moment, too. Almost like just maybe, for the time being, at least, they were both too tired to really keep on hating each other so much. Too tired to keep themselves on that kinda edge they'd been on all day.

'Course, that little moment didn't last all that long. Not that they started right back up hating each other or anything like that, but they just got themselves interrupted by the sudden appearance of their young waitress. Snapped them both out of their silent, temporary tolerance of each other before it had the chance to turn itself into a genuine feeling of neutrality. Or, heaven forbid, a feeling of almost-affection.

Couldn't have that, of course, and when Jane finally noticed their server standing next to the booth where they sat, she ripped her eyes from Maura's faster than a hummingbird beats its tiny little wings. So fast it actually caused Maura to flinch in surprise, and it took her a beat just to regain her composure enough to address their patient waitress.

"Can I get you ladies anything else?"

"I… believe we're just finishing up here," Maura smiled politely. "But would you happen to know where we could find lodging for the evening?"

"Yes, ma'am. Just right up north, 'bout a half mile. Dirt road on the right, big sign out front. Can't miss it."

Maura paid her thanks, and her bill, before the waitress finally walked away, and then she turned her attention back to the brunette seated across from her. Got a good look at how intently Jane was pushing around a few bites of lukewarm food on her plate, like there wasn't a more interesting thing in all the world to set her eyes on.

And when she finally felt that watchful gaze back on her, she raised her eyes to Maura's with a decisive nod.

"You ready to leave, then?"

"When you are, I suppose."

She was up from her seat faster than Maura could so much as blink, and she ended up needing to wait (rather impatiently) a few seconds while Maura daintily slid herself out of the booth after her. The blonde was just about to ask her where the hell the fire was, probably with a bit more grace than that, of course, but she never even got the chance.

Jane tilted her head toward the doorway, muttered, "Let's go, then," and headed off without so much as a single glance over her shoulder. And Maura, still wholly confused by Jane's sudden return to her less-than-amicable demeanor, was left with little choice.

She took a deep breath, and she followed silently out to the car.

* * *

It didn't take long for the two women to get themselves settled into their room for the night, even despite the grimace Jane caught on Maura's face when they first stepped inside. Granted, it was far from what you might consider to be a swanky sort of establishment, but it wasn't all that bad, really. It had two beds, of course, which was why they'd needed it in the first place, and, fortunately enough, it didn't seem to be infested with any crawling little critters.

But Maura was mostly interested in the washroom. The large, porcelain bathtub, to be more specific. She had it ready within minutes, closing her eyes and sinking down into the warm embrace of a tub full of clean, soapy water. Leaning her head back against the edge and letting out a quiet hum of contentment that she didn't even care if Jane heard. Not that Jane _did _actually hear it, but that's beside the point, really.

So, it's probably not gonna surprise you to find out that she fell right asleep amidst the comfort of a warm bath. Slept for a good half-hour or so, too. Long enough that when the sound of voices on the other side of the door finally woke her up, dazed and disoriented, the water around her was just about cold.

She blinked around the room for a few seconds, figuring out where she was and all that, and then she climbed on out of the tub and wrapped herself up in a soft, cotton towel.

And then she heard it again.

Definitely voices. Definitely a _male _voice. And definitely the unmistakable sound of Jane _laughing _in response to that male voice. Laughing about something other than a sharp jab at Maura's character, for once.

She looked down at the towel wrapped around her, debating how to go about retrieving her nightdress without exposing herself improperly.

_Not that it's entirely proper for any gentleman to be in our room at this hour of the night, anyway, _she thought grumpily.

With a role of her eyes, she sighed and called out from behind the door,

"Jane? Would you please bring over my nightdress?"

The voices instantly got quiet, and the creak of the bed told her that her request was being obliged. A few seconds later, she heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Why didn't you just take it in, if you planned on dressin' in the washroom?" the younger woman asked when Maura opened the door.

"Well, I _hadn't _planned on dressing in here," Maura replied, snatching the gown from her hands, "but I certainly didn't want to go prancing around in a towel in front of your guests."

"My… my guests?"

"Your friends, suitors… whatever you prefer to call them, Jane, I don't particularly care. But I would have appreciated a little bit of warning before you filled our room with men at this hour of the night. It's highly improper, and quite inconvenient."

The confused expression on Jane's face turned quickly into a scowl at Maura's tone, and she opened up the door with eyebrows raised pointedly, exposing an empty room.

"Yeah," she huffed, "I'll be sure to tell all my _suitors_ to hit the damn road."

She turned on her heel and made her way back over toward the center of the room, stopping when she reached the nightstand to play with the dial on a small radio that Maura was certain hadn't been there when they arrived. And when she figured out where those voices had been coming from, you can bet Maura's cheeks turned a bright shade of red.

"I didn't realize there was a radio in here," she admitted quietly.

"There wasn't one. It's mine."

"Oh."

When her response was met with stony silence, Maura slowly made her own way across the room. She made her way right over to stand in front of Jane, who purposely kept her attention fixed on the source of her auditory entertainment- even when Maura stepped directly into her field of vision. It wasn't 'til she figured the older woman had no intention of getting out of the way that she finally rolled her eyes and refocused them on Maura's.

"I apologize for getting upset with you," Maura said sincerely, once she was sure she had Jane's attention. "I was wrong to assume."

"Yeah. You were."

And just as quickly as they'd come, those brown eyes flicked right back over toward the radio again without another word. It was a pretty clear signal she was done talking, and Maura went ahead and paid the proper heed to it. She waited a second or two, just to see if Jane was gonna change her mind or say anything else, but then she finally turned her back and went over to the bed she'd laid out her belongings on.

She gently placed her nightdress atop the covers while she dropped her towel to the floor, then slipped on into her nightwear and smiled in spite of herself. 'Cause that dress was made of the softest, smoothest silk Maura'd ever had the pleasure of clothing herself in. It was one of the few garments she'd managed to keep hold of over the past few years, since she'd hit the road and all, and putting that gown on every night was just about the simplest, yet greatest, comfort she felt right asking for.

It even still smelled a bit like her parents, or so she told herself. So she could still imagine, at the very least. And, like she'd said before- ain't no reason for anybody to ruin that memory for her, long as it kept on providing comfort.

But it became pretty clear when she turned back around that Maura was the _only_ one in the room feeling any sort of comfort at that moment in time. Jane wasn't looking at her, of course, least not _anymore_, but her cheeks were so red that Maura nearly thought she might need medical attention, 'til she remembered she'd just stripped down naked in front of the younger woman.

Not that it was all that unusual, really. Least not for Maura, who'd had plenty of experience dressing and undressing in front of women who were mere acquaintances. She was so comfortable with it that she just plain hadn't even considered how Jane might react. Didn't even figure that maybe the younger woman, coming from a small country town like she did, might be less used to dressing in front of strangers. And she had, after all, chosen to change into her own nightclothes while Maura was in the bath, rather than slip into them while she was actually in the same room with her.

It was an interesting dissimilarity between them, Maura thought, but she just figured their individual histories were different enough to account for Jane's discomfort. And rather than embarrass the poor widow any further by pointing it out or bringing it up, Maura decided to consider the matter in silence, perhaps using it as a discussion point the next time she encountered a woman with a similar background to Jane's. Rather than say a word about it now, she just decided she'd hang up her towel in the washroom and then slip herself under the covers to catch as much sleep as possible before her work inevitably resumed in the morning.

And that's what she did. She laid down on the mattress, and pulled the blankets up across her chest, and even closed her eyes to block out what little light illuminated their room from the small lamp on the nightstand.

But the sound of the radio continued to echo throughout the room. The sound of some young gentleman becoming the butt of every joke, only to be applauded enthusiastically by the cheerful laughter of a live audience. She tried to sleep through it, but as the minutes ticked by, she figured it was gonna be damn near impossible. So, she flicked her eyes open to see Jane still perched on the edge of her bed, eyes glued to the device and a wistful smile on her face.

Then she caught Maura's gaze and the smile disappeared instantly.

"Who is it you're listening to?" Maura inquired softly, her curiosity finally overwhelming her need for sleep.

Jane just kinda eyed her for a minute then, almost like she thought the question was some type of trap she was about to go walking herself into. And being that she was listening to Jack Benny, popular as he was, she just couldn't rightly wrap her mind around the idea that Maura would need to ask such a question.

"You… you ain't never heard of Jack Benny?" she finally managed to get out, unable to mask her surprise.

Maura shook her head.

"I don't suppose I've had much time to indulge in radio programs over the past few years," she admitted. "Not that I don't enjoy them, I've just… not had an abundance of opportunity."

And that much was certainly true. If Jane had any idea what Maura'd been up to the past few years, and even what she'd been faced with in the time before that, before she'd finally hit the road for good, you can bet she would've found herself asking a lot more important questions than why her blonde companion had never heard of Jack Benny.

But the thing is, she _didn't _have any idea. So she didn't know she even needed to ask. Instead, she did the exact thing that Maura had just needed to apologize to her for.

She assumed.

"Guess I woulda thought someone like you'd be pretty keen on radio shows," she shrugged.

As you might imagine, that was the type of comment that put Maura immediately on edge.

"Someone like me?" she clarified.

The radio crowd started laughing again in the background.

"Yeah, someone like you," the younger woman answered without even looking. "Comin' from money like that. Never holdin' down a steady job. Never bein' married. Hell, as many of these radio fellas are single, I'm surprised you haven't gone battin' your little eyelashes to get a wed-"

"You know _nothing _about me, Jane."

Maura was sitting back up in her bed by this point, eyes flashing angrily and voice clearly cold enough to freeze Jane's attention on her.

"You know _nothing_."

The crowd laughed again.

Jane was silent.

And Maura had grown tired of being the only one in the room with any inclination to be polite or civil. She didn't know exactly what it was that had set Jane back on the warpath, after they had very nearly started to get along at the dinner table, but she found that she no longer cared. If her sincere apologies meant nothing to this woman, and her attempts at conversation were going to be so quickly turned into baseless insults, then she just figured there was no more use wasting her effort in fruitless attempts at being amicable.

She was done trying.

"Turn that damn thing off," she snapped. "I'm exhausted."

"Then _sleep_," came the retort.

"I can't hardly get proper rest with that much _noise, _Jane. For heaven's sake, just turn it _off_."

And, surprisingly enough, she did. Not without a few choice words mumbled under her breath, of course, or a way of handling the dials that was a great deal rougher than necessary, but she still did it. She turned that radio off in such a huff that it's practically a miracle she didn't destroy the damn thing, and then she just as indignantly flicked off the lamp next to her to finally engulf them in both silence and darkness.

"Happy?" she growled into the night.

"Very."

But that happiness, even as bitterly sarcastic as it was, still didn't last long.

Barely a few minutes had gone by before a familiar scent began drifting its way into Maura's nostrils, and she popped her eyes open to see the glowing red embers of a cigarette hanging from the young widow's hand, draped absently over the edge of the bed.

"You can't possibly be serious."

"What? Got a problem with this now, too?"

" As a matter of fact, _yes_," Maura responded angrily. "Do you have _any_ idea how foolish you're being? Not only is that incredibly detrimental to your health, it's a _fire _hazard. You're going to burn this entire place to the ground."

"Well, then I hope you left enough water in the tub to put it out."

Across the dark room, Maura could just barely make out the intent glare that Jane was shooting her way, illuminated only faintly by the glow of her cigarette. She watched those eyebrows raise in challenge, and she watched as those long, slender fingers flicked a bit of ash down onto the floor. The embers glowed for barely even a second before disappearing back into the darkness, but Jane didn't even notice. She had her gaze locked on Maura's, and the message was clear.

"I ain't puttin' it out," she told her, raising the object in question back to her lips and letting out an exaggerated puff of smoke. "No use wastin' it now."

And Maura knew she meant it.

She rolled over to face away from Jane, her face buried in her pillow and her jaw still clenched in frustration. But before she finally let herself fall asleep, she rolled back over to say one more thing on her own behalf.

"If you catch this place on fire, Jane, you'd better just hope that I burn right up with it. Because if your _stupidity _puts me in any danger… I can assure you, it will be a severely regrettable mistake on your part."

"You ain't gonna _burn, _Maura. For Christ's sake," Jane sighed.

And after she heard the squeak of bed springs as Maura turned back to face the wall, she lowered her voice and muttered her last words of the night.

"I couldn't possibly get that lucky."


End file.
